What Another Season of Waiting Costs You
A garage door spring rarely fails without warning signs. It fails without warning to the homeowner who didn't look. By the time a torsion or extension spring snaps outright, it usually takes the door's smooth operation down with it — and more than a few homeowners find out at the worst possible moment, like 6 a.m. in January with the car trapped inside and a storm on the way. Beyond the inconvenience, a snapped spring under load can bend track, strain the opener's gears, or send a cable whipping loose. What would have been a straightforward spring swap turns into a bigger repair bill. Walking your garage once before winter really sets in costs you ten minutes. Ignoring it costs you a Saturday, a tow if your car's stuck inside, and whatever else the spring takes out on its way.
The Checklist: Walk the Garage and Look
Do this with the door closed and the opener still connected for the first few checks, then disconnected for the balance test. Bring a flashlight — most of this is easier to see than to hear.
Torsion Springs (mounted horizontally above the door)
- Gaps between coils. Healthy torsion springs sit tight, coil against coil. If you see daylight between coils in a few spots, the spring has started to stretch out of shape. That's metal fatigue talking, and it only gets worse.
- Rust or flaking on the coil surface. Surface rust alone isn't an emergency, but flaking, pitting, or rust that's eaten into the coil itself weakens the metal and makes a sudden break more likely, especially once temperatures drop and the metal gets brittle.
- A visible gap or separation in the middle of the spring. This usually means the spring has already partially failed. Don't operate the door — call for a replacement instead of testing it further.
- Grinding or scraping sound as the door moves. Torsion springs should turn smoothly on the shaft. A grinding noise often means the spring is binding, which shortens its remaining life fast.
Extension Springs (mounted along the upper tracks, usually a pair)
- Stretched-out loops. Compare the two springs side by side. If one looks noticeably longer or more stretched than the other, it's wearing unevenly and will likely go first.
- Visible gaps between coils under load. Same idea as torsion springs — if the coils aren't sitting snug when the door is closed, the spring has lost tension it won't get back.
- A frayed or fuzzy-looking safety cable. Extension springs should have a cable running through the center. If that cable is kinked, frayed, or missing, the spring has no backup if it breaks — which turns a repair into a safety hazard.
Checks That Apply to Either Type
- The balance test. Disconnect the opener (pull the release cord) and lift the door by hand to about waist height. Let go. A door with healthy springs stays put or drifts slightly. A door that slams down or shoots back up means the springs are no longer carrying their share of the weight.
- The opener is working harder than it used to. If the opener strains, hesitates, or runs slower than it did a year ago, it's likely compensating for springs that are losing tension — not an opener problem at all.
- The door looks crooked when it moves. One side lifting faster than the other is a classic sign that one spring (in a two-spring torsion or extension setup) has weakened more than its partner.
- You don't actually know how old the springs are. Most torsion springs are rated for somewhere around 10,000 cycles — roughly 7 to 12 years of typical daily use. A lot of the original housing stock around here still has the doors and hardware it was built with. If nobody's replaced the springs and the house is older than that, assume you're on borrowed time.
Why This Matters More Going Into This Winter
Metal contracts in the cold, and a spring that's already fatigued has less give to work with once temperatures drop. Add in the freeze-thaw cycles and road salt that work their way into garages here, and rust accelerates in spots that look fine in summer. Springs that have survived a humid season can show the first visible gaps or rust pitting right around now, before the hard cold sets in — which makes this the window to catch it, not after the first nor'easter.
When to Call Exeter Garage Door
If you spot gaps in the coils, uneven springs, a frayed cable, or a door that fails the balance test, stop operating it and call us. Spring Replacement is a same-visit job in most cases — we match the spring to your door's exact weight and cycle rating, not a generic size off the shelf. If you're not sure what you're looking at or just want peace of mind before winter fully arrives, our Maintenance & Tune-Ups cover a full spring and hardware inspection along with lubrication and balance adjustment.
If you're in Exeter, Stratham, Newfields, Epping, Brentwood, Kensington, Hampton Falls, or Kingston and your garage door is showing any of these signs, give Exeter Garage Door a call before the next cold snap makes the decision for you.